Tobacco Will Kill One Billion This Century Unless Use is Red

[tnmynatt]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,202810,00.html

Report: Tobacco Will Kill One Billion This Century Unless Use is Reduced

Monday , July 10, 2006

If current trends hold, tobacco will kill a billion people this century, 10 times the toll it took in the 20th century, public health officials said Monday.

Tobacco accounts for one in five cancer deaths, or 1.4 million deaths worldwide each year, according to two new reference guides that chart global tobacco use and cancer. Lung cancer remains the major cancer among the 10.9 million new cases of cancer diagnosed each year, according to the Cancer Atlas.

Reducing tobacco use would have the greatest affect on global cancer rates, health officials said. Improving nutrition and reducing infection by cancer-causing viruses and bacteria could also cut rates dramatically, they said.

"We know with cancer, if we take action now, we can save 2 million lives a year by 2020 and 6.5 million by 2040," said Dr. Judith Mackay, a World Health Organization senior policy adviser.

The new Cancer Atlas and updated Tobacco Atlas were released Monday at a International Union Against Cancer conference. The American Cancer Society published the two atlases with help from the Union, WHO and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Even if smoking rates decline worldwide, there will be a constant or even slightly increasing number of smokers due to population increases," said Michael Eriksen, director of the Institute of Public Health at Georgia State University.

An estimated 1.25 billion men and women smoke cigarettes now, according to the Tobacco Atlas.

[blaze100]

Hi tnmynatt, This november the voters of California will decide if they want to add an additional $2.80 state tax to a pack of cigarettes. The extra revenue will go to fund health care for uninsured children.

Considering only 16% of the state are smokers (compared to 23% nationwide), I think it will pass. If it passes, it is estimated it will save the lives of 140,000 californians - a good sized city.

I checked on my last trip to grocery store and a pack of Marboros right now costs $5.66, so this will increase the cost to about $8 per pack. I think it will work.

It is only a matter of time before the rest of the country follows. Barb

[Remembering Dave]

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Sa ... 9189068529

I was getting ready to post this article myself and see that you already did. but here's a link to the article in my local newspaper. its funny, but a friend of mine and I were talking about how many men in China smoke - like most of them, literally (I know first hand having spent two weeks there adopting our daughter) - and I said I wondered how many lung cancer deaths a year they have, and he said, well, you'll never know, do you think the Chinese government will ever 'fess up to something like that to the world? but this article addresses it.

smoking killed my husband. by giving him lung cancer. I know alot of people have never smoked and get LC, but alot of people would never get it if they didn't smoke. maybe if all the smoking-caused lung cancer was eliminated (by no one smoking) then it would make it easier to find a cure for the non-smoking caused lung cancers. does that make sense?

I just know that I hate hate hate cigarettes.

Karen